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State school funding decoded
Released 01/08/2011
With recent changes to funding processes for maintained school, a software firm has stepped in to offer a free document outlining what options are available to state-run schools
Funding options to change for 2011/12
A software firm has created a free funding document on its website to help state-maintained schools get to grip with the many changes to funding processes for the 2011/12 academic year.
Dedicated schools Grant
The funding document, from Whizz Education, explains how many previous revenue grants have either been phased out or incorporated into mainstream funding through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), which is now the main local authority funding stream for maintained schools.
Importantly, this grant is not ring-fenced at school level, so schools have the autonomy to decide how it is spent.
However, they may still be expected to show the same provisions that they would have previously been able to show with the help of the old grants (including School Standards Grant, School Development Grant, Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant, One-to-One Tuition, Targeted Support for Primary and Secondary National Strategy and Maths and/or ICT Budgets).
Pupil premium
Currently set to run from April 2011 to 2015, the pupil premium (PP) aims to reduce the impact of cuts elsewhere in a school's funding and ensures that funding to tackle the disadvantaged or deprived reaches those pupils who need it most.
In its first year, the PP is £430 per child eligible for free school meals and/or "looked after" and £200 for service children. In 2012-2015, the PP is expected to increase by up to four times the first year provision.
The PP will be provided as a function dependant on how many "looked after" and service children each individual school has, as a separate specific grant outside the DSG.
The funding is not ring-fenced at school level, but schools are held accountable for how they have used this additional funding and, from September 2012, will also be expected to produce reports to justify the spend.
Devolved formula capital
For primary schools, devolved formula capital (DFC) totals £4,000 per school in 2011/12, plus £11.25 per pupil, reduced substantially from the 2010-2011 school year.
This should be available to 40% of schools in May 2012 and, by July, 60% of schools will have access.
Its purpose is to provide capital for schools to address their own priorities, with a minimum spend of £2,000 on ICT equipment and related projects.
Going forward, funding for 2012-2103 will more than likely follow the same process, predicts Whizz Education, thereafter the system could change again with the aim of removing inequalities, which have resulted in similar schools in different areas receiving different levels of funding.
The role of the pupil premium is also expected to increase, with more emphasis on value for money and funding aimed at the needs of pupils.